The Quickie: New Polling: Dobbs and State Abortion Bans Increased Support for Abortion Rights
For Immediate Release: June 20, 2023
Welcome to “The Quickie” — Planned Parenthood Action Fund’s daily tipsheet on the top health care & reproductive rights stories of the day. You can read “The Quickie'' online here.
In today’s Quickie: new polling shows Dobbs increased support for abortion rights, providers sue NC over abortion care restrictions, and critical primary for abortion rights in VA today.
NEW POLLING: DOBBS AND STATE ABORTION BANS INCREASED SUPPORT FOR ABORTION RIGHTS: A new poll by USA Today/Suffolk University found that the Supreme Court’s decision overturning Roe v. Wade and the subsequent state level abortion bans increased support for abortion rights over the past year (and support was already high). Almost one in four Americans report that state efforts to restrict abortion access made them more supportive of abortion rights, by an almost 4-1 margin over those who say it’s made less supportive.
Additionally, almost 60% of those surveyed opposed the overturn of Roe. A whopping 80% of Americans oppose a federal abortion ban, including a majority of Republicans and independents. Fifty-three percent of those surveyed supported a federal law protecting abortion access, a 14-point margin over those who would oppose it.
And as the 2024 elections slowly approach, abortion rights still have salience for voters. More than three in four said abortion would continue to be an important issue for them and 20% said it would be the most important issue.
Read more at USA Today.
NORTH CAROLINA ABORTION RESTRICTIONS CHALLENGED: Last Friday, North Carolina health care providers — including Planned Parenthood South Atlantic (PPSAT) — filed a lawsuit challenging several provisions of Senate Bill 20 (S.B. 20) that limit access to abortion care. The filing comes one month after the North Carolina General Assembly rushed S.B. 20 through both chambers and overrode a veto from Gov. Roy Cooper to put it into law. The lawsuit asks a federal court to address and clarify several restrictions within the law (set to go into effect July 1), including contradictory provisions on the timeframe for accessing medication abortion, a 72-hour mandatory delay with conflicting guidance around exceptions for medical emergencies, and more.
“Starting July 1, patients and health care providers in North Carolina will be forced to endure the harms of this sweeping abortion ban and its tangled web of medically unnecessary, inconsistent, and dangerous restrictions on care,” Jenny Black, President and CEO of PPSAT, said in a statement. “Senate Bill 20 is much more than a ban on abortion after 12 weeks of pregnancy — it contains a multitude of new restrictions that make it difficult to get an abortion across the board. Thousands of people are depending on us to fight for their ability to get the health care they need and deserve, and that is what we are doing today in court. Planned Parenthood South Atlantic remains committed to providing abortion care to as many people as possible within the unjust and inhumane confines of this law.”
Read more at AP and The News & Observer. Read more at PPFA.
TODAY: ABORTION RIGHTS ON THE BALLOT TODAY IN VA SENATE PRIMARY: Today, Virginia voters head to the polls for primaries, including to vote in Virginia’s 13th Senate District primary. Planned Parenthood Advocates of Virginia-endorsed candidate Lashrecse Aird faces anti-abortion incumbent state Sen. Joe Morrissey.
“Abortion rights are on the ballot in Virginia,” Jamie Lockhart, Executive Director of Planned Parenthood Advocates of Virginia, said. “Today voters will make their voices heard and once again prove that Americans overwhelmingly support protecting access to abortion. Voters want candidates who will fight for their rights and stop Governor Youngkin from getting the votes he needs to enact an abortion ban. Virginians know that they can trust Lashrecse Aird and are fired up to send her to Richmond. They will send a resounding message to anti-abortion politicians across the commonwealth: Protect our rights, or we will vote you out.”
Read more at ABC and POLITICO. Listen to Aird discuss her campaign on Fast Politics Podcast with Molly Jong-Fast.